EUROPEANS

RETURN OF HISTORY

Not too long ago, in 2021, Europe’s militaristic symbols seemed outdated, reflecting a past that had been left behind. What Europe appeared to have achieved was a transition from oppression, war and militarism to political compromise, sportsmanship, and cultural exchange. National identities no longer were to be forcibly imposed on the continent’s diverse populations. Europe’s values of diversity, liberalism and civility seemed to have triumphed over empty nationalistic pathos — with no reason left to fight on the battlefield. Unfortunately, the visible anachronism of European protagonists dressed in their respective nation’s 19th-century uniforms shouldn’t last for long ….